Wire unreeling apparatus



Dec. 8, 1931. 0. v. ATWQOD WIRE UNREELING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 2, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 8, 1931.

D. v. ATwoop WIRE UNREELING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 2, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 8, 1931 f "stares PATENT OBI-lice;

mum wmnn arwoonor mnrirsxm, momma, ASSIGNOB TO'DELCO-REMY con-201A Tron, QEANDER QNH NDIANA, a eonromrron or DELAWARE UNBEELING APPARATUS Ap lication filed December 2; 1929: Serial No; 411,056.

Thjs invention relates to apparatus for unreeling a coil of wire aind for taking up the sl 'aek in the wire as it is being fed to a notherapparat'us, for example; a device for 1 5 automatically cutting off" measured lengths i i I I I V It is one of the objects of the present invention-to provide-- adorable and reliable apparatus especially adapted for unreeling a 'm coil of? wire and for taking up the slack betweenthecoil and' the apparatus to which the wire'is fedi v i F'urtherobfiects and advantages ot the present ihvention Will be apparent fronrthe fol- 1s lcwingjdeseriptioir, reterence beinghad to the accompanying drawings wherein a preferredembodiment oiione-fonn ofthepresent inventionis-clearly shown.

Inthe drawings:

'* 1 is a fragmentary perspective of apparatus embodying the present invention.

Fig; 2 i's-asideelevation partly inseetion. is a View on the line looking in the direction oi" the arrows of "Fig; 2.

26 Fig. his er-fragmentary sectional view on a l argersca le onli'ne 4'4 or Fig. 2; I

Fig.5 is a sectional view on line 5-5of The unreelmg' apparatus comprises a cir- 30' cular' table -2 havin y its edgereinforced by an circular angle bar 21 attached to legs 22 resting upon the floor 2-3. The table 20- car'- ries a frustro-conical tubular member 24 around which a coilof wire- 1 00- may be 35 placed when the-coil rests upon the table 20.

Themenrber 24 or locator locates the coil centrally'ofi'the tabl'e20 and encloses a'central member" 25 containing ball bearings- 26 and 2'5 for a; shaft 28 carrying at its lower end a '40- bralte disc 29 and at its upper end a sleeve 30 fromwhichcxtends a driving-pin 31 The pin engagesa suitable-recess in: an arm 32 which is clamped against the sleeve 30 by annt33ith-remled-lly= engaging theupper end 46 ofi'theshatt28a; The arm32-providesapivot 3Zt'for zn-paain 0t swinging bars 3'5WhiCh are spaced; apart as shownin Eig. 3 and are nnitedi bypins; 3'6 extending through spacers 37"located' at both ends ofthebars; A fl'oa-tii4.,"grooved'-wheel' 38 providing a wireguide i's vertically movable between the barsand rotates upon a pin 39 each end of which is received: by groove-40 provided on the inner side of each bar 35. In this way the wheel 38 while rotating is permitted to move up and down along the bars 35. The wire 101 leading from the coil 100 is passed around the wheel: 38, then around a grooved wheel 41' rotatable with pin 42 journalled in the bars 35, around a grooved wheel 431rotatably supported by a post attached to the arm 82, around a grooved wheel 45 pivotally' supported by a bracket 46 attached to oneofthe legs 22,.around a grooved wheel flpivotally supported: by post 48 supported by horizontal' bar 49'having' one end attached adjacent the upper endo'fa pedestal 50 and the other end resting upon a shelf 51 which may be a part-of the machine to which the wire is fed.

Afterleaving'wheel' 47, the wire=101 passes around a grooved wheel. 52 pivotally supported by the bar49, thenaround a grooved wheel 53 pivotall'y supported by a bar" 54' pivoted at 5410 upon the bar49r After passing the wheel 53 the wire' 101 passes again around a wheel 55, coaxial with wheel 52' and then horizontally toward a machine which consumes the wire.- Thislast portion ofthe wire is yield'ingly pressed against the wheel 55 by a small wheel 56 which ispivotally supported by a bar 57 pivoted at 58'upon' a post 59 carried: by the bar 49'. The bar 57 is yieldingly urged toward the bar 49" by a spring 60 which connects them. I The bar 54 carries a weight 61 which is slidable along the bar and issecured thereto in: any desired position by screw 62. The upper end of the bar 54 ispivotally connected with a link 63'tlie-lower end of which is pivotally connected with a collar 64 attachedto arod 65whicl'1 is supported by and which is guided for vertical movement by a Bracket 66 attached to thebar 49'. The upper end of the rod 65: carries a disc 67 having a face disc-'68 of anti-friction material adapted to engage the brake disc 29;

As :the' wire 101 is pulled from the wheel 52 in ahorizontal directionby the machine whichthe wire supplies itis obvious that the arm 32'willbe' rotated in aclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1. Another position of the arm 32 and part supported thereby is represented in dot-:md-dash lines in Fig. 2, the parts being referred to by numerals 32a, 34a, 35a, 36a, 38a, 41a, etc. lVorkmen are protected from the moving parts including 7 the arm 32 and-parts supported thereby ibya frusto-conical sheet metal guard 70. V 7,

As long as the wire lOl remains taut the arm 32 is free to rotate, but should the wire become slack to a certain degree between the reel of wire 100 and the wheel 55 the arm 54 will move clockwise to cause the rod 65 to move upwardly thereby causing .the brake.

member 68 to engage the brake disc 29. Thereupon, rotation ofthe arm 32qwill be resisted so that-the slack in the wire 101 Wlll be. takenup. lVhen thev wire becomes taut again, the-bar 54 will be lifted-in order-to retract the brake member 68 from the brake 29 so that the arm 32 may rotate freely. As shown. in Fig. 4, guide wheel 52 is journalled on the hub 70, of guide Wheel 55 which is j ournalled on a rod- 71 having a head 72 bearing against hub 70 and confining wheel 52. Rod is .slidable through bar 49 and is feather j keyed thereto at .73- so that it cannot turn with-the guide wheels. To bar 49 is at? tached a; brake plate 75 carrying a face disc 7 6, of leather or other suitable friction ma-. terial. Braking pressure is applied between the disc 7 6 and the wheel 55 by a spring 77 located between the bar 49 and nuts 78 threadedly engaging therod 71. By adjusting the nuts 78 the braking pressure may be varied.

As shown 'in Fig. 5, the wheel 52 is providedwith notches 80 having bounding surfaces .8l-non-concentric with the periphery of hub 70. Each notch 80 receives a roller 82 normally urged by a plunger-83 pressed by a spring-84 toward the wider portion of the-notch. In this waya one-way clutch connection-is provided between the wheel 52 and the hub 70 ofwheel 55. Therefore wheel 52 may rotate freely in the direction of arrow 85 but will clutchitself automatically to hub 70 of wheel 55. when there is a tendency to rotate thewheel 52 in the direction ofarrow '86. Thus counterclockwise rotation of wheel 52 will be at least frictionally resisted due to the brake which resists rotation ofwheel 55; and, if wheel 55 tends to rotate clockwise when wheel 52 1 tends to rotate counterclockwise, one wheel will oppose the other and neither wheel may'rotate.

In case of tangling the wirebetween the reel and pulleyr52 and-55 causing a jerk on the wire, the wheel 52 will tend to turn counterclockwisethereby resisting movement of wheel 55 clockwise, or in a direction to feed wire into the machine which consumes the wire. In this way ,the strain resultin from the jerk is, taken up 'at the wheel 52 and 55 and is prevented from being transmitted by the wire to the machine which consumes it.

The braking device tends to reduce overtravel of the wheels 52 and 55 due to the jerking of the wire by the machine.

The guide wheel 38 moves up and down 1n order to accommodate itself to'the turn of wire then being unwound from the coil 100.

' When the wirehas allbeen consumed the nut 33 is removed from the upper end of the shaft 28 inorder that the ar m 32 and parts supported thereby maybe moved "out of operating positionso that a new coil of Wire may be placedupon the table 20 and around the locator 24. Then the bar 32 is placed upon the collar, 30 and, secured thereto by the nut 33; and the wire is threaded around the groovedguide wheels and the'unreeling device operatesas'before- 1 i i The present apparatus is particularly adapted for unreeling wire fed to-a machine such as an automatic cutter which pulls or jerks on the wire intermittently. Regardless of the fact that the arm 32 will overtravel during each intermittent movement of jerking of the wire the bar 54 will-descend into braking, positionbefore the next j erkiof the wire ta -kes place in order to cause the rotation of the arm 32 to be resisted 'by-the brakingaction of the parts 29and 68. Thus the slackness of the wire is-taken upduring thefirst part of the next succeeding inter,- mittent movement ofthe wire from the wheel 55. Although the 'wirebetween the reel and the wheel 55 may vary in degree of tautness, the wire between thewheel 5 5 and the machine which consumes the wire will be substantially tautat all times. WVhile the form of embodiment of thepresent invention asherein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it,is to be understood that otherforms might be, adopted, all coming within the scopeof the claims which follow.

lVhat is claimed is as follows i r I 1. Apparatus for unreeling wire comprising in combination, a horizontalshpport for receiving a coil ofwire, a've'itical shaftex tending through the coil, an 'unr eelingarm attached to the upper end of theshaft, wire guiding devices carried-by said arm, a wire guiding device located vertically above said shaft,'a pair of wheels between which the wire is gripped before passing to the machine which consumes the .wire, a movable wire guide aroundwhich the wire passesv before passing to the pair of wheels,'and means operated by said movable wire guide for frictionally resisting rotation of said shaft when the-slackness of the wire exceeds a certain amount.

2. Apparatus for unreeling wirercomprising in combinatioina horizontal support for recelving a' coil of wire, a vertical shaft ex tending through the coil; an unreeling arm attached to the upper end of the shaft, wire guiding devices carried by said arm, a wire guiding device located- Vertically abovesaid V shaft, a pair of wheels between which the wire is gripped before passing to the machine which consumes the wire, a movable wire guide around which the wire passes before passing to the pair of wheels, and cooperating brake members one attached to said shaft and the other actuated by the movable wire guide toward and away from the brake member attached to the shaft in order to resist frictionally the rotation of the shaft when the slackness of the wire exceeds a certain amount.

3. Apparatus for unreeling wire comprising in combination, a horizontal supporting table for receiving a coil of wire, a tubular member extending centrally through the coil and attached to the table, a shaft bearing supported by the table centrally of the tubular member, a vertical shaft supported by the bearing, a horizontal arm attached to the upper end of the shaft, a brake disc attached to the lower end of the shaft below the table, wire guiding devices carried by the arm, a wire guiding device located vertically above the shaft, and means for applying a braking pressure to the brake disc when the slack in the wire exceeds a certain amount.

*2. Apparatus for unreeling wire comprising in combination, a horizontal support for receiving a. coil of wire, a. horizontal arm rotatable about a vertical axis located centrally with respect to the coil, a support pivotally connected with the arm and extending transversely thereof, a plurality of wire guiding devices carried by said pivoted support one of the said devices being bodily movable along said support, a wire guiding device located vertically above the axis of the arm, and means for resisting rotation of the arm when the slackness of the wire exceeds a certain amount.

5. Apparatus for unreeling wire comprising in combination, a horizontal support for receiving a coil of wire, a vertical shaft extending through the coil, an unreeling arm attached to the upper end of the shaft, a brake disc attached to the lower end of the shaft, wire guiding devices carried by said arm, a wire guiding device located vertically above said shaft, and means for frict-ionally resisting rotation of the shaft, said means comprising a brake member vertically movable into and out of engagement with said brake disc, a vertically movable rod supporting said member, a pivoted weighted lever operatively connected with said rod and car- 7 rying a wire guiding device around which a loop of wire is passed whereby when the slackness of the wire exceeds a. certain amount the weighted lever will move downwardly in order to move the brake member upwardly into contact with the brake disc.

In testimony whereof I hereto aflix my signature.

DUKE VANC'E ATWOOD. 

